Alice Cooper(I)
- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier, in Detroit, Michigan, the
son of a minister. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at a young age and
still lives in the state today. At age 17, he formed a rock band called
the Earwigs, who changed their name to The Spiders and then The Nazz,
before finally settling on Alice Cooper. The line-up included himself,
Dennis Dunaway,
Michael Bruce,
Glen Buxton and
Neal Smith. Rumors (which the
band did not necessarily make efforts to deny) to the contrary, the
name was not chosen from a Ouija board reading nor was it named after a
woman once burned at the stake for witchcraft -- it was picked because
the random name had a twisted sense of originality and misleading
innocence, complementing the band's bizarre and macabre stage theatrics
and lyric themes.
The band got their first big break playing at the Whisky a Go Go in Los
Angeles one night in 1969 when Frank Zappa
discovered them and signed them to his record label. After two
albums-and relocating to Detroit -- they were signed by Warner Bros.,
hooked up with famous producer Robert Ezrin
and came out with their third album, the breakthrough "Love It to
Death" in 1971. Several albums followed, including "Killer", the highly
successful "School's Out", "Billion Dollar Babies" and "Muscle of
Love". The band made an appearance in the movie
Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
and their own theatrically released documentary
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974).
Alice himself also starred in an episode of
The Female Instinct (1972).
The original Alice Cooper band broke up in 1975, with the lead singer
getting his name legally changed to Alice Cooper -- and performing
under the name ever since -- while some of the other members formed a
band called the Billion Dollar Babies. That same year saw the release
of a Greatest Hits album, while Alice as a solo artist completed the
album "Welcome to My Nightmare" and his incredibly theatrical tour. It
was on this tour that he met his future wife
Sheryl Cooper, who had been hired as a
dancer.
Along with the album and tour came a television special,
Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (1975),
and both included dialog from horror movie legend
Vincent Price. Alice made a number
of other television and movie appearances in the second half of the
decade, including
The Muppet Show (1976),
Mae West's final film
Sextette (1977),
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
and several appearances on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962).
However, by the late 1970s, Alice's problems with alcohol became
life-threatening, and he was checked into a clinic for rehabilitation.
He told of his experiences on the semi-fictional album "From the
Inside" (there was also a comic book of the same title), and explored
different sounds in the early 1980s with four albums ("Flush the
Fashion", "Special Forces", "Zipper Catches Skin", "DaDa"). After
having a severe "falling off the wagon" to the point of almost dying,
he sobered up once more -- this time for good -- and returned with the
albums "Constrictor", "Raise Your Fist and Yell" and the 1989 album
"Trash", which featured the hit song "Poison". The 1980s also saw Alice
starring in the horror films
Monster Dog (1984) and
Prince of Darkness (1987), as
well as having mostly new songs for the soundtracks to
Roadie (1980),
Class of 1984 (1982),
Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988)
and Shocker (1989).
However, it was the 1990s that brought Alice's most memorable movie
appearance: playing himself in
Wayne's World (1992). The phrase
uttered by characters Wayne and Garth in his presence, "We're not
worthy!", became one of the most popular movie catchphrases of the
decade. Alice also played the father of Freddy Krueger in
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991),
and himself on
That '70s Show (1998) and
Something Wilder (1994). The
decade also saw the release of his "Hey Stoopid" and "The Last
Temptation". Alice toured occasionally but took a break from releasing
albums until 2000, when he released "Brutal Planet". He followed this
up with "Dragon Town", "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" and "Dirty Diamonds",
and continues to tour regularly, performing shows with the bizarrely
dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for.
son of a minister. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at a young age and
still lives in the state today. At age 17, he formed a rock band called
the Earwigs, who changed their name to The Spiders and then The Nazz,
before finally settling on Alice Cooper. The line-up included himself,
Dennis Dunaway,
Michael Bruce,
Glen Buxton and
Neal Smith. Rumors (which the
band did not necessarily make efforts to deny) to the contrary, the
name was not chosen from a Ouija board reading nor was it named after a
woman once burned at the stake for witchcraft -- it was picked because
the random name had a twisted sense of originality and misleading
innocence, complementing the band's bizarre and macabre stage theatrics
and lyric themes.
The band got their first big break playing at the Whisky a Go Go in Los
Angeles one night in 1969 when Frank Zappa
discovered them and signed them to his record label. After two
albums-and relocating to Detroit -- they were signed by Warner Bros.,
hooked up with famous producer Robert Ezrin
and came out with their third album, the breakthrough "Love It to
Death" in 1971. Several albums followed, including "Killer", the highly
successful "School's Out", "Billion Dollar Babies" and "Muscle of
Love". The band made an appearance in the movie
Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
and their own theatrically released documentary
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974).
Alice himself also starred in an episode of
The Female Instinct (1972).
The original Alice Cooper band broke up in 1975, with the lead singer
getting his name legally changed to Alice Cooper -- and performing
under the name ever since -- while some of the other members formed a
band called the Billion Dollar Babies. That same year saw the release
of a Greatest Hits album, while Alice as a solo artist completed the
album "Welcome to My Nightmare" and his incredibly theatrical tour. It
was on this tour that he met his future wife
Sheryl Cooper, who had been hired as a
dancer.
Along with the album and tour came a television special,
Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (1975),
and both included dialog from horror movie legend
Vincent Price. Alice made a number
of other television and movie appearances in the second half of the
decade, including
The Muppet Show (1976),
Mae West's final film
Sextette (1977),
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
and several appearances on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962).
However, by the late 1970s, Alice's problems with alcohol became
life-threatening, and he was checked into a clinic for rehabilitation.
He told of his experiences on the semi-fictional album "From the
Inside" (there was also a comic book of the same title), and explored
different sounds in the early 1980s with four albums ("Flush the
Fashion", "Special Forces", "Zipper Catches Skin", "DaDa"). After
having a severe "falling off the wagon" to the point of almost dying,
he sobered up once more -- this time for good -- and returned with the
albums "Constrictor", "Raise Your Fist and Yell" and the 1989 album
"Trash", which featured the hit song "Poison". The 1980s also saw Alice
starring in the horror films
Monster Dog (1984) and
Prince of Darkness (1987), as
well as having mostly new songs for the soundtracks to
Roadie (1980),
Class of 1984 (1982),
Friday the 13th: The New Blood (1988)
and Shocker (1989).
However, it was the 1990s that brought Alice's most memorable movie
appearance: playing himself in
Wayne's World (1992). The phrase
uttered by characters Wayne and Garth in his presence, "We're not
worthy!", became one of the most popular movie catchphrases of the
decade. Alice also played the father of Freddy Krueger in
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991),
and himself on
That '70s Show (1998) and
Something Wilder (1994). The
decade also saw the release of his "Hey Stoopid" and "The Last
Temptation". Alice toured occasionally but took a break from releasing
albums until 2000, when he released "Brutal Planet". He followed this
up with "Dragon Town", "The Eyes of Alice Cooper" and "Dirty Diamonds",
and continues to tour regularly, performing shows with the bizarrely
dark and horror-themed theatrics that he's best known for.